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A councillor with the Township of Leeds and Thousand Islands allegedly violated his oath of office after he went public in July with confidential information on a township decision to fire senior staff members.

As a result, John Paul Jackson will be the subject of an investigation by an independent integrity commissioner.

Jackson claimed he was simply trying to save the jobs of those four staff members.

“This is me trying to get four members of our staff reinstated and any actions we took against them rescinded,” Jackson said.

Eighteen separate allegations of harassment were made against the township’s chief administrative officer, Greg Borduas, ranging from looking down the tops of female staff members to allegedly changing clothes in front of other female staff.

The Township investigated the allegations – its lawyer determined the complaints were unfounded.

“I do believe that it is politically motivated,” Township Mayor Joe Baptista said. “I think it is dirty politics that’s been played and it continues to be played.”

Jackson also asked for an investigation of his own.

“I’m going to ask that you amend the motion to allow for investigation of three identifiable individuals of council for abuse of power, and abuse of the code of conduct and our harassment policy,” Jackson said to the rest of council.